Blue Riband Weekly (2026)

25/12/2020

PART THREE: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE DANCE CURRENT AND NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA

Back in June, I shared an opinion on social media that garnered quite a bit of attention, merely by asking: how long can we keep this energy going? How long will our performative allyship with the BLM movement be sustained when the media has moved on to the next thing. My bet was that we’d be back our usual patterns of behaviour by September. While September was an arbitrary choice in time, it was also when I initially planned to get an article published that was written by Emily Trace on allegations of racial discrimination made by Nicholas Rose after his experience at The National Ballet of Canada.

Try as I may—and I tried over and over—I couldn’t get a major publication to publish Emily’s article. After a very disappointing dismissal by The Dance Current—though initially VERY interested in publishing it—I approached several other publications, including the Huffington Post, to no avail. The pattern was the same: initially very interested (which shows the article was well written), then matters of scare-tactic technicalities and worry of the NBoC’s response eventually derailed common good sense.

Nicholas has since moved on with his life—as he should—but Emily and I remained resolved to publishing his allegations, as well as the larger story of the often performative but seldom genuine allyship of companies in the performing arts. So, at this eleventh hour, I decided to publish it on Blue Riband. No, we’re not a large publication, and we don’t carry the clout and attract the eyeballs that the above publications carry—BUT YOU CAN CHANGE THAT by sharing this to the dance lovers around you, and everyone else who shared a black square on that infamous and confounding Blackout Tuesday.

It was exactly because of stories like this—stories and perspectives that go unreported or underreported—that I started Blue Riband and became dedicated to what was initially a pet project. To be sure: this is not merely an attempt to ‘call out’ the NBoC and Dance Current. I invite both of these organizations see this as the feedback they profess to crave, to use Nicholas’s story as a case study on how they missed the marked on showing their allyship WHILE simultaneously performing* it on social media.

2021 presents an unparalleled challenges and opportunities for the performing arts, whereby three of Canada’s top organizations—the NBoC, TSO and COC—are all welcoming new leadership. This is also an opportunity to turn over a new leaf unto better moral leadership. To ensure that their organizations dispense with the usual reactionary corporate reflex when they are given feedback on EDI that doesn’t suit their public image.

Emily’s full article is available on Blue Riband (www.briband.com), but I’ve also put together a three-part podcast series to make this story more accessible. Part 1 is a reading of Emily’s article. Part 2 is an extended interview with Rose about his time at the NBoC and his retrospective assessment of their response to his allegations. In Part 3 (at the link below), I summarize interactions with The Dance Current, Huffington Post and other publications whose refusal to publish this story could only be explained by the inconvenience of acknowledging Rose’s grievances.

I’m immensely grateful to Nicholas for his time on this, and to Emily for her dedication. And I’m preemptively grateful to you for putting your support into action by sharing this and listening to it despite the chaos of the holiday season. This entire ordeal has been a masterclass in the importance of truly independent journalism and why I should persist with Blue Riband as an all-purpose performing arts platforms—otherwise we leave it to perennial powers that be to decide whose voice matters and whose story deserves publication.
Please share and subscribe to Blue Riband.
Peace and Love, and happy holidays.
Michael Zarathus-Cook

PART THREE: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE DANCE CURRENT AND NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA Back in June, I shared an opinion on social media that garnered quite a bit of attention, merely by asking: how long can we keep this energy going? How long will our performative allyship with the BLM movement be sustained....

23/12/2020

PART TWO: A CONVERSATION WITH NICHOLAS ROSE

Back in June, I shared an opinion on social media that garnered quite a bit of attention, merely by asking: how long can we keep this energy going? How long will our performative allyship with the BLM movement be sustained when the media has moved on to the next thing. My bet was that we’d be back our usual patterns of behaviour by September. While September was an arbitrary choice in time, it was also when I initially planned to get an article published that was written by Emily Trace on allegations of racial discrimination made by Nicholas Rose after his experience at The National Ballet of Canada.

Try as I may—and I tried over and over—I couldn’t get a major publication to publish Emily’s article. After a very disappointing dismissal by The Dance Current—though initially VERY interested in publishing it—I approached several other publications, including the Huffington Post, to no avail. The pattern was the same: initially very interested (which shows the article was well written), then matters of scare-tactic technicalities and worry of the NBoC’s response eventually derailed common good sense.
Nicholas has since moved on with his life—as he should—but

Emily and I remained resolved to publishing his allegations, as well as the larger story of the often performative but seldom genuine allyship of companies in the performing arts. So, at this eleventh hour, I decided to publish it on Blue Riband. No, we’re not a large publication, and we don’t carry the clout and attract the eyeballs that the above publications carry—BUT YOU CAN CHANGE THAT by sharing this to the dance lovers around you, and everyone else who shared a black square on that infamous and confounding Blackout Tuesday.

It was exactly because of stories like this—stories and perspectives that go unreported or underreported—that I started Blue Riband and became dedicated to what was initially a pet project. To be sure: this is not merely an attempt to ‘call out’ the NBoC and Dance Current. I invite both of these organizations see this as the feedback they profess to crave, to use Nicholas’s story as a case study on how they missed the marked on showing their allyship WHILE simultaneously performing* it on social media.

2021 presents an unparalleled challenges and opportunities for the performing arts, whereby three of Canada’s top organizations—the NBoC, TSO and COC—are all welcoming new leadership. This is also an opportunity to turn over a new leaf unto better moral leadership. To ensure that their organizations dispense with the usual reactionary corporate reflex when they are given feedback on EDI that doesn’t suit their public image.

Emily’s full article is available on Blue Riband (www.briband.com), but I’ve also put together a three-part podcast series to make this story more accessible. Part 1 is a reading of Emily’s article. Part 2—at the link below—is an extended interview with Rose about his time at the NBoC and his retrospective assessment of their response to his allegations. In Part 3 (forthcoming), I summarize interactions with The Dance Current, Huffington Post and other publications whose refusal to publish this story could only be explained by the inconvenience of acknowledging Rose’s grievances.

I’m immensely grateful to Nicholas for his time on this, and to Emily for her dedication. And I’m preemptively grateful to you for putting your support into action by sharing this and listening to it despite the chaos of the holiday season. This entire ordeal has been a masterclass in the importance of truly independent journalism and why I should persist with Blue Riband as an all-purpose performing arts platforms—otherwise we leave it to perennial powers that be to decide whose voice matters and whose story deserves publication.

Please share and subscribe to Blue Riband.
Peace and Love, and happy holidays.
Michael Zarathus-Cook

PART TWO: INTERVIEW WITH NICHOLAS ROSE Back in June, I shared an opinion on social media that garnered quite a bit of attention, merely by asking: how long can we keep this energy going? How long will our performative allyship with the BLM movement be sustained when the media has moved on to the nex...

22/12/2020

Back in June, I shared an opinion on social media that garnered quite a bit of attention, merely by asking: how long can we keep this energy going? How long will our performative allyship with the BLM movement be sustained when the media has moved on to the next thing. My bet was that we’d be back our usual patterns of behaviour by September. While September was an arbitrary choice in time, it was also when I initially planned to get an article published that was written by Emily Trace on allegations of racial discrimination made by Nicholas Rose after his experience at The National Ballet of Canada.

Try as I may—and I tried over and over—I couldn’t get a major publication to publish Emily’s article. After a very disappointing dismissal by The Dance Current—though initially VERY interested in publishing it—I approached several other publications, including the Huffington Post, to no avail. The pattern was the same: initially very interested (which shows the article was well written), then matters of scare-tactic technicalities and worry of the NBoC’s response eventually derailed common good sense.

Nicholas has since moved on with his life—as he should—but Emily and I remained resolved to publishing his allegations, as well as the larger story of the often performative but seldom genuine allyship of companies in the performing arts. So, at this eleventh hour, I decided to publish it on Blue Riband. No, we’re not a large publication, and we don’t carry the clout and attract the eyeballs that the above publications carry—BUT YOU CAN CHANGE THAT by sharing this to the dance lovers around you, and everyone else who shared a black square on that infamous and confounding Blackout Tuesday.

It was exactly because of stories like this—stories and perspectives that go unreported or underreported—that I started Blue Riband and became dedicated to what was initially a pet project. To be sure: this is not merely an attempt to ‘call out’ the NBoC and Dance Current. I invite both of these organizations see this as the feedback they profess to crave, to use Nicholas’s story as a case study on how they missed the marked on showing their allyship while simultaneously performing* it on social media.

2021 presents an unparalleled challenges and opportunities for the performing arts, whereby three of Canada’s top organizations—the NBoC, TSO and COC—are all welcoming new leadership. This is also an opportunity to turn over a new leaf unto better moral leadership. To ensure that their organizations dispense with the usual reactionary corporate reflex when they are given feedback on EDI that doesn’t suit their public image.

Emily’s full article is available on Blue Riband (www.briband.com), but I’ve also put together a three-part podcast series to make this story more accessible. Part 1—at the link below—is a reading of Emily’s article. Part 2 (forthcoming) is an extended interview with Rose about his time at the NBoC and his retrospective assessment of their response to his allegations. In Part 3, I summarize interactions with The Dance Current, Huffington Post and other publications whose refusal to publish this story could only be explained by the inconvenience of acknowledging Rose’s grievances.

I’m immensely grateful to Nicholas for his time on this, and to Emily for her dedication. And I’m preemptively grateful to you for putting your support into action by sharing this and listening to it despite the chaos of the holiday season. This entire ordeal has been a masterclass in the importance of truly independent journalism and why I should persist with Blue Riband as an all-purpose performing arts platforms—otherwise we leave it to perennial powers that be to decide whose voice matters and whose story deserves publication.

Please share and subscribe to Blue Riband.

Peace and Love, and happy holidays.

Michael Zarathus-Cook

The Blue Riband Podcast · Episode

26/10/2020

Blue Riband meets Toronto International Festival of Authors — Head over to the link below for our interview with Roland Gulliver, the festival’s new director who, stepping into his first year to make it work despite the pandemic. 

To meet this uniquely challenging moment with a uniquely-2020 solution, TIFA will host it’s festivals entirely online. The obvious limitations to a digital festival also present opportunities to reach new demographics (certainly a theme with ever arts organization these days).

“I’m really thrilled and excited that Margaret Atwood will be opening the festival and that Richard Ford will be in the program. Having come from Edinburgh, it’s nice that Ian Rankin and Val McDermid will be part of the festival. Then, I think also there is a great poetry lineup, we have people like Tyler Pennock reading his work. The fiction list, people like Ayad Akhtar. I think just the whole range of the fiction writers. For me, bringing in that kind of wealth and diversity of writers has been really important.” Roland Gulliver .

Gulliver’s arrival—as an expat from the Edinburgh International Book Festival—is being met with quite the roster of literary superstars, from Margaret Atwood to Desmond Cole. It’s going to be a long winter, so a well-stocked reading list via a conveniently located literary festival will certainly help. Start your experience of TIFA 2020 with the link below and be sure to pass it on.

Writer: Erin Baldwin

10/10/2020

It feels sooo good to read a review of a show again—didn’t think I’d get to do that again this year. Even better to host the insanely talented Emily Trace on Blue Riband Weekly again. At the link below, you’ll find the most in-depth analysis you’re going to get anywhere of the Fall for Dance North Festival Signature 2020 program which featured 6 Canadian premiers.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Emily’s writing and this full-length review is exactly why—even if you don’t follow dance you’re gonna to take something away from her evocative transcription of an otherwise visual experience. Also be sure to keep an eye out for Emily’s upcoming article that takes a very in-depth look at the unsavoury experiences of BIPOC artists at certain dance companies in Canada and beyond ( Hey The Dance Current, when’s this getting published? 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️).

Please share this review far and wide, a review this well-conceived deserves to get around. 🙏🏾🙏🏾

The Fall For Dance Festival goes till October 18th, for $15 you can enjoy the entire festival experience from the comfort of your own screen.

In a season when performance venues are purchasing house plants to take the seats of their patrons, the impressive effort that Fall for Dance North put into digitally staging their 2020 Signature Program will be a welcome respite for dance lovers isolating at home. Their six world premieres—some b...

29/09/2020

New episode of the Blue Riband Podcast! It’s a pleasure to welcome Artistic Director of Fall for Dance North Festival, Ilter Ibrahimof, back for another interview, this time as a podcast! The Fall For Dance North Festival opens today and runs till October 18th. Head to ffdnorth.com for more information and to get your $15 ticket which gives you access to the ENTIRE FESTIVAL, plus an exclusive program featuring six Canadian premieres.

For the first ever Blue Riband podcast interview, Ilter and I talked about what those first couple months of the pandemic felt like for him and his team, and we go through a selection of programs that caught my eye from this year’s catalogue. We also talk about a social issue that’s dominated 2020 headlines, that obviously being the BLM movement and how it pertains to the dance world.

Click through to the podcast at the link below — please check it out and pass it on✌🏾

It’s a pleasure to welcome Artistic Director of FFDN, Ilter Ibrahimof, for an podcast interview! The Fall For Dance North Festival opens today and runs till October 18th. Head to ffdnorth.com for more information and to get your $15 ticket which gives you access to the ENTIRE FESTIVAL, plus an exc...

19/09/2020

Blue Riband meets Famous Last Words (Famous Last Words Toronto) — Head over to the link below to read our interview with Marlene Thorne, owner of the literary bar and Junction favourite.

Marlene Thorne first opened her west-end Toronto cocktail bar famous last words in 2016 after deciding she was ready to get out of the corporate world.

Over the past four years flw has steadily grown their reputation as a book lover’s haven, hosting numerous book club meetings, trivia nights and book launches in their elegantly decorated literary space.

While 2020 has thrown them — and everyone else — some major curveballs, flw opened a new curbside patio this summer and has adjusted to throwing virtual trivia nights on Zoom. Recently Marlene took the time to talk to us about the original inspiration for flw, the bar’s literary aesthetic and how they’ve been managing the pandemic.

Pass it on!🙏🏾

Marlene Thorne first opened her west-end Toronto cocktail bar famous last words in 2016 after deciding she was ready to get out of the corporate world. Over the past four years flw has steadily grown their reputation as a book lover’s haven, hosting numerous book club meetings, trivia nights and

11/09/2020

Latest on Blue Riband: Literary Curator Erin Baldwin checks in with the Director of Toronto’s Word on the Street Festival, David Alexander, for an in-depth interview on his vision for the festival in this especially unpredictable year.

Going into his third year in the gig, Alexander spills a little bit of tea about what the festival’s doing differently this year and how it’s reacting to the current limitations.

“We’re still figuring things out—volunteers, marketing strategies, book sales—that in a normal year would have been settled by now. But we think we’re through the storm. Or, if not, at least everything’s tied down and we’re holding steady.” Alexander

A broader look at the publishing landscape in Toronto takes their virtual conversation into the history of the festival and how the city around it has changed.

“A lot has changed since the first WOTS was held on Queen Street West in 1990. For one thing, Queen Street West is no longer a bohemian neighbourhood full of cafés, bars, and bookstores. Publishing has changed quite a lot, too.” Alexander

Ahead of the festival weekend, September 26-27, Alexander also takes a deep dive into their innovative programming that aims to remind virtual attendees that the book is most certainly not dead, and that publishing houses have a role to plan in the fight for equity of access in the industry.

“It’s not hard to see that people from marginalized backgrounds face additional barriers moving through this publishing process. So we think carefully about how we amplify new writing and what kinds of conversations we encourage through our programming.” Alexander

Read the full interview at the link below.

Pass it on!

Author: Erin Baldwin Toronto is a hub of publishing houses, poetry readings and even literary-themed cocktail bars, but it is also — perhaps most importantly for the literary landscape — the home of some major book-related festivals, including Canada’s largest annual book and magazine festival...

12/08/2020

Where do I get started with classical music? That was the question I asked myself four years ago. So I started a musical calendar of sorts, beginning in August, 52 weeks to digest 52 recordings.
At first I thought it would be impossible to maintain this schedule alongside the demands of being twenty-something in Toronto—but, looking back on the last four years, I simply can’t imagine getting through it in one piece without this constant regimen.
Going into the fourth year of this calendar, I didn’t want the list below to read like another musical-obituary of dead-white-men—a difficult feat in this genre—so I sought out to find more works by female and minority composers. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find such works on vinyl, the format is a literal record of exclusion.
While this roster (at the link below) is still far from what I would describe as truly diverse catalogue of composers—I remain committed to getting there—it is a reminder to the occasional visitor of the important contributions made by classical music’s ‘others’.
So I hope you will accept my invitation to join me for another year of musicking. Stop by here occasionally for a great recording of an old favourite, who knows, you might find something new.
Link below for the next 52 weeks on Blue Riband — pass it on, we’re growing!

- From my desk to yours — Michael

Where do I get started with classical music? That was the question I asked myself four years ago. There are of course many ways to go about answering that question. In my case I cared more about the emotional power and historical context of the music, than theoretical formulations and the adulation....

04/08/2020

Week52 on Blue Riband: So you wish this year was over already? Couldn’t agree more. Three years ago when I started thinking about putting together a musical calendar, I knew I wanted to use it as an opportunity to hit the refresh button when late-summer sluggishness sets in. Definitely could’ve used that button four months ago. Better late than ever. As I’ve done in the last three years, I’m wrapping up the ‘year’ with a Britten opera, this time his underperformed ‘Turn of the Screw’—eerily similar in subtext to Peter Grimes and, can be described as, ‘The Sound of Music’ meets ‘The Others’. Happy new year everyone 🙃. A great recording at the link below. Please share and spread the word✌🏾

London ffrr Recording, printed in the U.S.A. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) The Turn of The Screw , Opus 54 (1954) The English Opera Group Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Britten Cast: Jennifer Vyvyan, Joan Cross, Peter Pears, Arda Mandikian, Olive Dyer, David Hemmings Many nouns in i

29/07/2020

“Her sensual poems written from a first-person perspective speak of domestic life, wedding ceremonies, virginity, motherhood and, above all things, love. Sappho gives voice to a whole sphere of society generally ignored by male writers at the time. Even when Homer spoke of women, most famously Penelope in ‘The Odyssey’, it was filtered through a male gaze. When Sappho speaks of women, she speaks as a woman. ” Erin Baldwin — Why Sappho is the World’s First Feminist

A new Blue Riband x Truths & Edits article by editor Erin Baldwin, ‘Why Sappho is the World’s First Feminist’, positions the archaic Greek poet as a revolutionary well ahead of her time.
Read the full article at the link below.

Author: Erin Baldwin Before there was Time’s Up and , there was Sappho. Sappho may not have specifically been advocating for change, but she was revolutionary in her own distinct way. Sappho was doing what few — if any — other women were doing at the time. She was writing, and s

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